Driven: 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro S
2023 | electric | evs | reviews | suvs | volkswagen
Battery-electric vehicles come in all shapes and sizes, from well-priced daily drivers to extravagant performance vehicles. The Volkswagen ID.4 has a starting price under $39,000, fast charging, and good driving range. We spent a week living with the premium grade ID.4 Pro S AWD and were delighted with its styling, power, and utility.
Unlike some EVs, the ID.4 doesn't scream "I'm a high-tech concept car" from the outside. Conversely, it embraces VW's trademark styling, and refining it with a smooth, contemporary design, subtle aerodynamic touches like nearly-flush door handles and pinwheel-shaped 20" alloy wheels with a two-tone black and silver finish.
The ID.4 AWD Pro S' dual motors produce 295 horsepower and 339 lb-ft. of torque. It can go up to 255 miles on a charge and zooms from 0-to-60 mph in a sporty 5.8 seconds. It's a zippy little thing, thanks to the instant torque you get from an electric powertrain. The rear-biased AWD system provides a reasonably sporty feel and is sure-footed in wet conditions. The steering is relatively light and easygoing, while the suspension can be a little springy on rough surfaces. It's likely been tuned for a full load of passengers and cargo, and most of our testing was with one or two people up front.
While the entry-level ID.4 has a 62 kWh battery pack, most grades come with a larger 82 kWh battery. If you care more about driving range than acceleration, the RWD variant isn't as quick but will give you 20 extra miles between charges. When you get down to 20% charge, the instrument panel displays an alert, and the navigation system can automatically direct you to the nearest charging station.
The ID.4 supports up to 175 kWh DC charging. At a nearby 250 kWh public quick charging station, the larger battery refilled from 16% to 90% in just 25 minutes. That gave us plenty of time to run into the OnCue station and fill up on coffee and Twizzlers. It was a hot day out, so it was also nice to get back inside the ID.4, where we enjoyed its wonderfully cold air conditioning and listened to tunes while it finished juicing up. It's also intelligent enough to automatically turn on the climate control when you enter the car during a charging session. To sweeten the EV deal, Volkswagen has teamed up with Electrify America to provide three years of 30-minute sessions at their DC quick charging stations at no additional cost.
One visual element that tells other drivers there's something special about the ID.4 can only be seen at night. The front and rear VW logos light up brilliantly. Combined with horizontal LED accent lights at both ends of the vehicle, it's a cool, distinctive look that's a bit cyberpunk.
One of our favorite things about the ID.4 is the compact and concise digital instrument panel mounted atop the steering wheel. It displays just the right amount of information, including the speedometer, current speed limit, remaining charge, driving range, and driving assistance graphics. It's at the perfect height and distance to be viewed through the steering wheel and is much brighter and easier to read than gimmicky head-up displays. Next to the display, you'll find a funny-looking trapezoidal gizmo instead of a traditional shift lever. It's simple and intuitive, though, with just four settings. Turning it forward once activates Drive mode. A second twist activates regen braking mode, and twisting it backward puts it in reverse. The center position is Neutral.
The ID.4 PRO S' cabin has an airy and open look, especially with these white V-Tex synthetic leather seats. This particular color scheme incorporates blue textile accents throughout the cabin, a pleasant improvement from the grey or black that's more typically found in two-tone interiors. There's a good-sized, 12" touchscreen for controlling the multimedia, climate, and vehicle settings. That system supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, complementing the smartly designed wireless charger in the center console. Rather than letting your phone slide around in a tray, VW engineered their wireless charger to hold your phone securely against the induction charger with a spring-loaded clip. It's the best setup we've seen in a vehicle for wireless charging so far.
Driver safety and convenience tech features are plentiful and include adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitor with rear traffic alert, dynamic road sign display, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist monitoring, park assist plus, lane assist, and emergency assist. The travel assist feature combines full-speed adaptive cruise with lane centering to reduce fatigue on long road trips and in traffic jams on the highway.
Another neat feature in the cabin of the ID.4 is the ambient mood lighting. This system surrounds passengers with bright and colorful LED illumination. It offers several mood presets with names like Infinity, Eternity, and Desire, which all sound like Calvin Klein fragrances. We'll forgive VW for the silly names and just enjoy the light show. In custom mode, it lets you choose two main lighting colors so you can create your own eye-catching color schemes.
As is often the case with EVs, the interior of the ID.4 provides excellent passenger space for its size. While the vehicle is roughly 5" shorter than a Volkswagen Tiguan, its interior is just as comfortable for rear-seat passengers, with excellent legroom and headroom. It feels even more spacious when you pull back the electric shade on the large, fixed glass panoramic sunroof.
There's a good amount of room for carrying cargo in the back of the ID.4 as well. With the seats folded down, there's a generous 64.2 cubic feet of nearly flat storage space. The rear seats fold in a 60/40 split and have a passthrough behind the fold-down center armrest, so you can carry long items like skis or lumber inside while still carrying four passengers. This model also has a hands-free power liftgate that can automatically open with the kick of a foot under the bumper.
Some Volkswagen vehicles have left us feeling cold, but that is not the case with the ID.4. This electric crossover is firing on all cylinders despite having none under the hood. It's a smartly styled small SUV with an impressively quick drivetrain, solid driving range, and plenty of space for five passengers and their stuff. It's loaded with buzz-worthy technology and offers good value for the money. The 2023 ID.4 AWD Pro S starts at $52,795. For $55,245, you can get into the top-of-the-line ID.4 AWD Pro S Plus, which adds unique 20" wheels, a black-painted roof, silver roof rails, power-folding mirrors, puddle lights, three-zone climate control, heated rear seats, and an overhead-view camera. Those prices are before any EV tax credits, and the ID.4 currently qualifies for the full $7500 federal tax credit.
